TunnelBear, a VPN service owned by McAfee and based in Toronto, Canada, stands out with its charming bear-themed interface. While it offers solid basic features and a strong privacy record, the question remains: Does TunnelBear deliver the performance and features needed in today’s competitive VPN market? This review dives deep into TunnelBear’s offerings, exploring its strengths and weaknesses to help you decide if it’s the right VPN for you.
Tunnelbear vpn
A User-Friendly Experience with Limited Features
TunnelBear’s interface is undeniably charming. The world map design, dotted with server locations and whimsical animations, creates a user-friendly experience. Connecting to a server is as simple as clicking on its location. A dropdown list also provides quick access to all available servers.
TunnelBear VPN
While boasting over 8,000 servers, TunnelBear’s country coverage is somewhat limited. Many countries only have a single server, which can be problematic if that server is blocked for streaming or other activities.
TunnelBear offers unlimited simultaneous device connections with its premium subscription. Key features include:
- VigilantBear (Kill Switch): Instead of disconnecting your internet, VigilantBear blocks all traffic until the VPN connection is re-established.
- GhostBear: Masks VPN traffic as HTTPS traffic, making it less likely to be blocked by censors, but potentially slowing down connection speeds.
- SplitBear (Split Tunneling): Allows you to select which apps and websites use the VPN connection.
However, TunnelBear lacks advanced features like multi-hop and dedicated servers for specific activities like streaming or torrenting. While P2P downloads are now allowed, TunnelBear doesn’t actively promote this feature. Other VPNs, such as ProtonVPN and Mullvad VPN, are better suited for torrenting.
Tunnelbear vpn
Pricing and Subscription Options
TunnelBear’s “Unlimited” plan is available in monthly, 1-year, and 3-year subscriptions. The monthly plan costs $9.99, while the 1-year plan is $39.99 initially, auto-renewing at $59.88 per year. The 3-year plan costs $120.
While the long-term plans offer decent value, the monthly plan is relatively expensive given the limited feature set. Competitors offer similar pricing with more advanced features like ad and tracker blocking. A free plan with 2GB of data is available for testing the service.
Performance and Speed Tests
Performance tests revealed average speeds around 40% of the baseline download speed and 35% of the baseline upload speed. These speeds are not impressive and fall short of top-performing VPN services.
Tunnelbear vpn
Streaming performance was inconsistent. While TunnelBear sometimes unblocked Netflix and Amazon Prime, it often struggled. GhostBear improved unblocking, but significantly reduced connection speeds, making it impractical for streaming high-quality video. For reliable streaming, NordVPN or CyberGhost VPN are better alternatives.
Security and Privacy Features
TunnelBear utilizes AES-256 encryption and supports WireGuard, OpenVPN, and IKEv2 protocols. WireGuard is recommended for its speed and security. DNS leak tests confirmed no IP address leaks.
TunnelBear’s privacy policy states that they do not collect DNS queries, IP addresses, timestamps, or other personally identifiable information. They do collect operational data like support queries and total data usage, but claim this data cannot identify individual users.
Tunnelbear vpn
Independent audits by Cure53 over the past seven years consistently confirm TunnelBear’s security and privacy practices. While located in Canada, a Five Eyes member, TunnelBear’s no-logs policy minimizes privacy risks.
Conclusion: A Simple VPN for Beginners
TunnelBear is a charming and easy-to-use VPN ideal for beginners. Its simplicity and focus on privacy are appealing, but its limited features and inconsistent streaming performance may not satisfy advanced users. While the playful bear theme is enjoyable, other VPNs offer better value and performance.
